BA, University of Oklahoma
MEd, Ohio University
PhD, Ohio University, Counselor Education
Dr. Christy Lyons is Professor Emerita of Counselor Education and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. During her tenure from 2004 to 2023, she played a central leadership role in securing the department’s initial CACREP accreditation, helping Bridgewater State University’s counseling programs become the first in Massachusetts to achieve this distinction. In recognition of her contributions to the field, she was named Counselor Educator of the Year by the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association (MaMCHA) in 2023.
Dr. Lyons held numerous leadership roles, including Department Chair and Program Coordinator, Fieldwork Director, Founding Director of the Mental Health Counseling International Concentration, Coordinator of the Professional Development Center, and Founding Chapter Faculty Advisor for Chi Sigma Iota, the international counseling honor society. Her work emphasized experiential, service-based, and global learning. She taught in Jordan through a faculty exchange program and later developed a Jordan Study Abroad course for BSU students. She also served as Service-Learning Coordinator and organized multiple campus-wide Teach-Ins addressing timely social issues.
Dr. Lyons’ peer-reviewed scholarship focuses on counselor education and training, including post-session safety concerns in family therapy, empathy development among counseling students, and the creation of optimal learning environments. She is the sole author of a statistical analysis establishing construct validity for the Perceiving and Responding with Empathy Scale and the author of How to Divorce Cooperatively.
As Professor Emerita, Dr. Lyons continues to mentor students and early-career professionals and provides consultation in counselor education and professional practice. She currently maintains a private counseling and coaching practice and enjoys travel and gardening.